Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Unicorn
by DestinyLegend04
Summary: It is the year 71 of the Cosmic Era, and the Bloody Valentine War has now enveloped the colony Heliopolis, changing the lives of Kira Yamato and Shiro Kaigan along with their friends. Now, they will decide their own fate as they struggle to stay alive and protect their friends at all costs. Rear your head and declare your resolve, Unicorn! Read and Review!
1. Phase 01-False Peace

_**Gundam SEED Unicorn**_

_**Phase 01: False Peace**_

* * *

_Year 70 of the Cosmic Era. Tensions were rising between Earth and the ZAFT organization. Due to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, these tensions suddenly escalated into a full-scale war. It seemed a forgone conclusion that the Earth Forces, with its superior numbers would be victorious. However these initial assessments proved to be false. Almost eleven months have passed since the conflict began, with no end in sight._

* * *

_**Opening 1: INVOKE**_

* * *

The colony of Heliopolis was peaceful, and quiet. Children were playing on the grass, and people were buying things in the shops. Meanwhile, two teenagers were listening to the news broadcast on a computer as each of them completed work. A mechanical bird flew down and onto the shoulder of one of them.

One of them had a black jacket with a chocker along with gray jeans, and he had brown hair and purple eyes. His counterpart opposite him was slightly different; with slate gray hair that was slightly messy with orange eyes, and was wearing a buttoned-up shirt with the top button undone and black jeans. Underneath the shirt, he also wore a light yellow vest. Both were pouring over data on their computers, completely immersed.

"_These images from the Kaohsiung space port show fighting is in progress," _said the newswoman on both laptops said into an earpiece. _"Now according to new information, ZAFT forces have taken control of land six kilometres around the port." _Suddenly, they both heard their names called.

"Kira! Shiro!" They both looked up at that. Tolle Koenig and Miriallia Haw were standing in front of the shaded area; Tolle in attire much like Shiro, and Miriallia wearing a dress with no shoulders and a peach line across the midriff. Shiro averted his eyes back to his work; it was known to all except Tolle and Mir he had a crush on her, and he'd rather not damage their friendship.

"So, this is where you guys have been hanging out; Professor Kato's been trying to get to you." Kira let out an audible sigh of exasperation, while Shiro looked slightly displeased.

"Again?" Kira said tiredly, and Mir added in he wanted to see them immeadiately and asked what they were helping him with.

"Too much," Kira said, placing his laptop on the same table as Shiro's, pouring over notes. "I haven't even finished the stuff he gave me yesterday." He laid back against the chair, while Shiro looked up in amusement.

"It's not going to take too long Kira; we share the same workload, and all we have to do is calibrate the codes for the hydraulic pumps and control mechanisms." Shiro said in the technobabble he and Kira were familiar with. Meanwhile, Tolle looked over at Kira's computer at the news.

"Some development in the news?" Tolle guessed, and Kira affirmed, as they watched the ZGMF-1017 GINNs fight mobile armors and tanks.

"Yeah, Taiwan apparently." The report zoomed in, and Mir joined Tolle's side as Shiro sighed and saved his work; shutting down and joining the three of them.

"_I'm within seven kilometres of Kaohsiung, where the sounds of combat continue to echo," _the field reporter said, wisely wearing a flak jacket but, Shiro noted wryly, it wouldn't do much good against the several-times bigger GINN rounds. Tolle and Mir were shocked at the carnage, as was Kira.

"If this is footage from last week, they may have already taken over Kaohsiung!" Mir was concerned, thinking about Heliopolis.

"Kaohsiung isn't that far from us, is it? Will the homeland be alright?" Shiro smiled at Mir, in order to make her feel better.

"Don't worry Mir; ORB can handle it's own; remember about a year ago?" They nodded. It had been at the start of the Bloody Valentine War, and the EA had attempted to capture ORB due to the stratgetical advantage. Needless to say, it was rather onesided against the EA.

"He's got a point. Sure it's close, but our nation is neutral. ORB won't turn into a warzone." Tolle said, as Kira stared off into space and Shiro completing his work.

"Really, then I guess we're okay." Kira was remembering a blue-haired boy at Copernicus, handing him Birdie.

"_The PLANTs and Earth will see eye-to-eye; there will be no war. You'll join me in the PLANTs later, right Kira?" _Suddenly, Tolle got up in his face and he cried out as he fell against the railing.

"What's up with you anyway? Let's go." Tolle gestured, and the two programmers packed their work and notes into a bag each and set off with their friends.

* * *

"There you have it," the Captain of the green cargo ship said as his cap swirled around in zero-g. "This old ship has completed her last mission. You served admirably as an escort, Lieutenant La Flaga." He directed to a youthful man in his late twenties with dark blonde hair.

"Sir, I'm just glad we arrived without incident. Any ZAFT forces in the vacinity?" Mu inquired.

"We've spotted two but it's no cause for alarm. They know they can't initiate any hostile combat whatsoever." Mu smiled good-naturedly.

"Because it's neutral territory, right? What a joke that it is." The Captain laughed at that; clearly, he and Mu got on very well.

"Well, it's because of them plans have progressed this far," the Captain replied. "We're fortunate that Earth has recognized ORB as a nation." The five pilots excused themselves and left the command center, with Mu's watchful eye.

"Think they can handle themselves on the ground?" Mu asked the Captain, who looked somber and as concerned as Mu.

"I know they're young, but they're all top guns selected to be G-Pilots, they'll be just fine." The Captain shrugged. "However, someone like you would stick out like a sore thumb." Mu laughed before retreating to his quarters.

* * *

Meanwhile, behind a nearby meteorite, the two ZAFT ships deployed two craft carrying ZAFT soldiers, heading to the colony. Inside the _Vesalius_, Rau Le Creuset was councilling Ades, his second-in-command.

Rau was wearing the white uniform of a ZAFT Commander. With bleached-blond hair and a mask hiding his face, he was indeed a mysterious fellow.

"Don't be frustrated Ades," Rau said calmly, as he floated away from his loyal captain. Ades looked at Rau in return.

"Well, I don't imagine it'll be too late if we wait for the Council's approval." Ades stated as Rau picked up a data pad, examining its contents.

"It will be too late; I've a sixth sense about these things," he tossed the pad to Ades. On it was the face of a human-like mobile suit, unlike the mono-eyed trademarks of ZAFT.

"If we don't seize them now, we'll regret our reluctance to take action later. The Earth Forces new mobile weapons; we must capture them before they move them." The pods latched onto the colony side, ready for infiltration.

* * *

As the four friends walked to the Morgenroete facility, they saw in front of them three girls, one of them a red-head who made Kira pause and Shiro to look in amusement.

It was Flay Allster, a girl a year younger than them, and the object of Kira's affections, though oblivious. Actually, it was a similar situation with Shiro and Mir, so Kira and him had bonded over it.

The other two girls asked Mir if she had heard, but Flay just blushed and told them to stop it. "What happened?" Mir asked, and the girl broiled with gossip.

"She got a letter from Sai Argyle and claim's nothing's going on," _That _caught Kira's attention; Sai was one of their circle of friends, and a letter could only mean one thing; Shiro looked at Kira in sympathy. "She refuses to dish out anything at all!" The girls complained.

They heard the clearing of a throat behind them, and Tolle and Kira discovered they were blocking a black-haired woman with two escorts. They immediately got out of the way, and Flay and the girls left to go shopping, with the four friends looking on in good-natured amusement.

"How about that. Sai." Tolle stated incredulously. "He wrote to her; what a total shocking suprise!" He faced Kira now with a smile on his face. "You have some competition Kira Yamato!" Tolle clapped on Kira's shoulders, who blushed and they hurried to Morgenroete.

Meanwhile, Natarle Badgiruel was scanning Heliopolis carefully with the eyes of a professional. "Just look at this place, so peaceful," She took off her sunglasses. "To think there are people as young as them on the front lines."

Little did she know, Kira Yamato and Shiro Kaigan would influence her for many months after.

* * *

Outside of Heliopolis, various ZAFT Greens and Reds found a door and opened it, revealing a complex laser grid. One of the Reds looked at a wrist-mounted stopwatch. As soon as it hit one minute, the laser grid disabled, allowing them to descend.

* * *

"There's no harm in asking, it's no big deal, Kira!" Tolle complained. The car they were in was nearly at Morgenroete, with Tolle and Miriallia in the back while Shiro rode shotgun next to Kira.

"No's no, and that's final, Tolle." As they pulled up to the gate, Kira slashed his card through the scanner, opening the barriers.

"It's not like you're going to ask, so I guess I'll have to." Tolle said devishly. Shiro sighed in exasperation; Tolle could be quite devious when he wanted to be.

"Just drop it, Tolle. You'll just keep this argument up for another fifteen minutes with a stalemate." Shiro said tiredly, and it was the truth; whenever Tolle and Kira 'argued', it would take quite a long time.

They were confirmed, and they were let in, unaware of the time fast approaching where their lives would change forever.

* * *

Rau checked his watch; the soldiers sneaking into the colony would need at least several minutes to bypass the laser grid before it activated again. He looked at the pictures of the five units. He smirked.

_Soon, those Naturals will find out how outclassed they are. Along with the rest of the Earth._

* * *

The quartet walked into the room, greeted by the site of a humanoid-looking suit, with various cables hooked up to laptops and computers. Kuzzey Buskirk was rapidly typing, while Sai Argyle emerged from a closet, green glasses tinting his eyes and wide with teasing.

"Well, Kira and Shiro. You finally made it!" He exclaimed, and Kira sighed while Shiro chuckled under his breath. However, Kira noticed a heavily-cloaked blond haired person standing against the wall, eyes watching the students. Even Shiro was curious.

"Who's that?" Tolle asked, pointing at the unexpected guest. Kuzzey seemed to gather his thoughts before speaking.

"Oh, the Professor's guest. Apparently he was told to stay here." Kira inquired as to where Kato was, before they got to work, the silent supervisor narrowing his eyes. But Shiro knew the Prof didn't take guests unless urgent.

_Something's up._ He thought, as he discreetly glanced at the observer. _But it's nothing to be worried about, just yet._

* * *

The ZAFT soldiers reached a corridor several minutes later, arming themselves with assault rifles, before gazing downwards, and gazing at a huge ship with two leg like protrusions on the front. This was the new battleship of the EA, the _Archangel_.

The leader made some discreet gestures, and the group split up to place the charges.

* * *

"He gave me this for you two, said there's some extra stuff on it," Sai said, handing Kira the disk, the latter sighing in resignation. "So what's on it? I suppose it has something to do with the work for Morgenroete."

"Technically not," Shiro spoke up. "It's too improve the frame module. It's just a simple progress analysis." Then Tolle got Kira in a headlock.

"Ask him about the letter Kira!"

"Let go Tolle! I said no!" Sai looked puzzled; what was this business about a letter?

"What letter?" He asked, unaware of their visitor trying to break into Kato's office. Something even Shiro didn't notice.

* * *

"It's time!" Rau announced, and the ship bussled with activity, the CIC being brought alive once again.

"_Vesalius_, launch!" at this, the thrusters kicked in, sending the vessel towards the colony. Rau held out a hand; teams of GINNs launched from both ships, the _Vesalius _and the _Gamow_.

* * *

Mu floated into the CIC of the ship he was on, the captain on edge and he guessed the reason. "Hostile ZAFT forces?" The Captain nodded.

"_Nazca_ and _Laurasia_-class. Confirmed mobile suits, and launched jamming shells." Mu made a derogatrive noise in the back of his throat.

"Have Luke and Gale mount their Moebius units; don't deploy them yet!" Even as Mu headed to his Zero.

* * *

Suddenly, everything seemed to shake and some of the platforms collapsed to the ground, as they took cover under the desks. Sai looked around in fear.

"A meteroid?!" Their visitor's eyes widened, and let out a clearly not-male gasp. Shiro ignored it as they struggled to stay alive.

* * *

The ZAFT infiltration group looked down upon the vehicles transporting the G-Weapons to the currently-buried mothership. The lead Red lowed the binoculars, revealing blue eyes and white hair; Yzak Joule. He smirked at the transports.

"Just like Commander Le Creuset said about the G-Weapons; 'leave out a carcass, the vultures will flock'." Dearka Elsman, a brown-skinned young man his age with brown eyes laughed at the comment.

"The Naturals are so stupid! We're gonna take 'em like candy from a baby!" Meanwhile, at the edge of a cliff, a familiar blue-haired teen looked down at the transports with ire.

* * *

The group of students were looking around in alarm as the ceiling began to crack under and crumble underneath the pressure of the GINNs attack. The lights dimmed as the civilians murmured, and Shiro eyed the corridor critically, avoiding the fact Tolle was protecting Mir.

"What's going on...?" She asked aloud, as Sai opened an emergency exit to a staircase, and he stopped a fellow civilian.

"What's going on?" He asked, and the civilian looked fearful and terrified, crying out; "It's ZAFT! Their mobile suits entered the colony!" The silent observer ran off, and Kira made to follow calling out.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Tolle attempted to bring Kira back, before Shiro grabbed him and gently brought him back in.

"Don't worry; Kira'll come back." That was before a sizable chunk of the ceiling began to collapse. Sensing the danger, Shiro grabbed Mir and jumped backwards, avoiding a horrible, crush-related death.

As the dust cleared, both of them saw the slab covering the staircase entrance. Shiro set Mir down and slammed the metallic wall, getting a response.

"Shiro, are you and Mir alright?!" Tolle asked frantically, and Shiro gave Mir a one-over examination. She had a mild cut on her arm and a bruise on her head, but nothing severe. He had similar wounds.

"We're alright. Listen Tolle, get to the evac pods! Me and Mir'll meet up with you!" Tolle seemed to pause before Sai shouted out.

"Alright! Remember, follow Kira to get to us! Go on!" Then the rushing of footsteps, and so Shiro's and Mir's only company was each other; usually, Shiro would have given anything for a chance like this, but this was serious. He turned to Mir.

"Alright Mir, let's go!" Helping her to her feet, they rushed after Kira. They heard more booms and explosions, with them stumbling at times.

* * *

"Destroy any parts we can't carry and the factories; intel indicates five of them," He turned to Athrun. "Are the other two still inside?" Athrun nodded.

"Rusty and I'll continue on," Athrun said. "Yzak, you guys take these three." Yzak nodded in agreement.

"Disarm the self-destruct mechanism first." Yzak said, and down below more soldiers guarding the G-Weapons fell under more bullets.

Then, once a few more fell, then Yzak threw a grenade into one of the transports, killing the rest of the soldiers. He bounced up to one, with Dearka in another and Nicol Amalfi, another Red in the last one.

"Well, this is impressive. Dearka, how's yours?" Yzak inquired.

"_Great; update activated, nerve links reconstructed, calibration set. It'll move." _Dearka said, as his own unit rose.

"And Nicol?" Yzak asked, the green haired Coordinator currently rewriting the OS.

"_Not yet. Almost there." _Then his own mobile suit rose in front of the others.

"Where's Rusty and Athrun? Taking their time." Yzak snorted derisively.

"I don't think they'll have any trouble; let's stick with the plan. Get them to Commander Le Creuset before they get damaged."

The three mobile suits simultaneously activated their thrusters, and took off towards the _Vesalius_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kira had caught up to the visitor, and grabbed,'him', by the arm in a suprisingly hard vice grip.

"What are you doing? It's a dead end there!" Kira said scoldingly, but the visitor twisted in his grip.

"Stop tailing me!" 'He' said angrily, and Kira was taken aback. "Get back out of here and hook up with the others."

A gust of wind tore through the corridor they were in, sending the person's hat flying, and revealing something Kira hadn't noticed before.

"You're...you're a _girl_?" He acked incredulously and the girl bristled in irritation.

"Yeah what'd you think I was?" She demanded, and Kira was taken aback. "Come on let's hear it!" Suddenly, they heard more explosions. Cagalli took the chance to break Kira's grasp and turned away.

"Go back now," Cagalli warned Kira. "I have to check up on something on my own."

"Easy for you to say," Kira said, getting frustrated at the moment. "How will I retrace my steps?" He chose a random corridor and dragged Cagalli along, surprised when she mentioned something about 'getting involved'.

"Don't worry; we'll be okay." Kira consoled as best he could. "There's still some shelters in the factory district." They hurried for the factory district, and spotted light. They rushed towards it, and were greeted by a bloody site.

There were dead bodies everywhere, and there were two enormous mobile suits; different than ZAFT ones, Kira noticed, having two optics and a strange crest on the forehead. On one, if he narrowed his eyes, he could see 'CINQUE X-105'.

"Hey, those are-!" He was distracted by Cagalli collapsing onto her knees.

"I knew it," She lamented. "The Earth Forces prototype mobile weapons. Father you betrayed us all!" Down below, Murrue Ramius mistook them for ZAFT forces and shot at them. Kira sensed the danger and pulled Cagalli away.

"Those were children...?" She wondered before going back to driving off the ZAFT pilots.

"Crying won't help!" Kira shouted as the two of them raced towards the shelters. "Come on now, run!" As they reached a shelter out of breath, Kira turned to Cagalli.

"See? There are still some people evacuating." He heard a ping and activated the intercomm.

"Is there still someone out there?" A man's voice asked, and Kira paid attention and replied hurriedly.

"Yes, my friend and I need to get inside. Please, open the door!" He asked urgently. However, he was dismayed to learn they were filled to capacity, and he looked around at the carnage.

"At least take my friend! Just a girl!" The person opened the door. In a flash he had forced her in before her misgivings could be voiced.

He began to run, but he glanced to his left, seeing the mobile suits still there. However, he saw a green coated ready to shoot the woman who had nearly killed them.

"Look out, behind you!" He shouted, and Murrue swivelled around and shot, downing the Green but her gun was jammed now. Once her gun was back upto notch, she leapt to the side killing another Green.

"Get over here!" Murrue ordered Kira, gesturing to the mobile suit.

"Thanks, but I'm getting to a shelter in the left block, don't worry about me!" He shouted, before an explosion tore through the door he nearly went through. With no other options, he raced down the stairs.

Murrue ran across the mobile suit she was on. "This way!" Seeing he wouldn't get there in time, Kira vaulted over the railing down onto the shoulder.

Meanwhile, Rusty had been downed by Hamana, and Athrun was filled with rage as he shot back at the offender. He shot at Murrue as she attempted to fight back, grazing her shoulder before throwing his gun aside, and drawing his knife, and boosted upwards.

"Athrun...!" Kira said shockingly, and Athrun in turn paused as well.

"Kira...?"

An explosion tore apart the factory. Kira was thrown by Murrue into the cockpit before she followed, with Athrun entering the other.

The two mobile suits rose against the inferno raging around them, standing tall, heralding a new age.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shiro and Mir had been trying to follow Kira, but a number of doors had been blocked by slabs of rock. They paused against a wall, gasping for breath.

From memory, he remembered that a few pods were nearby, and he urged Mir on. A gust of smoke filled the corridor, sending them coughing.

"Take this, Naturals!" They heard the voice of a ZAFT soldier, so Shiro grabbed Mir and bodydived into another corridor, narrowly avoiding the hail of bullets. To Mir's suprise, Shiro drew a classic Desert Eagle from a holster concealed by his shirt. As soon as the ZAFT turned into the corridor, he aimed and fire three shots. Two of them clipped the arm and leg, but the third hit him in the helmet.

"What the...? Shiro, since when do you carry a gun?" She asked alarmed. Shiro had a wry smile on him.

"Remember, my dad got me to take self-defence classes and some gun training too, from him. One of his rules was 'always carry a gun; it might save your life'. Guess he was right." Gesturing to the large hangar space, Mir dashed forward reaching it before Shiro.

"Zack! You'll pay you Natural scum!" A voice shouted, and Shiro ran towards the door, desperate to make it before the ZAFT soldiers killed him. A bullet grazed his arm lightly, but he stumbled before righting himself. Mir had already started closing the blast door; only a little space was left underneath.

In a burst of adrenaline, he slid underneath, batting a grenade back at the ZAFTs. As the blast doors closed, they heard a boom and screams.

"It'll take them a while to get through the blast door, let's go." Shiro said, but it was vain, it was alsomost completely dark in here.

"I'll find a switch, it's gotta be around here somewhere." Mir said, even as her hand brushed against one, and flicked it. The sight that graced them was incredible and they gawked.

It was a towering shape, grey in colour and clutching a rifle of some sorts in the right hand, the left occupied with a six pointed shield. It also didn't have any optics, but it had one distinct horn on the forehead.

"A mobile suit..." Shiro said, awestruck.

"What's one doing here, in Heliopolis?" Mir questioned aloud, before they heard banging on the other side of the door. They backed away as Shiro raced to a console near the collosus.

"What are you doing?" Mir asked in a panic. Shiro just focused on his work.

"That's a mobile suit; so there should be a command button to open the cockpit and drop the line." He said, even as a hissing was heard and a compartment opened, a line dropping down. Wrapping his arm around Mir, he grasped it as it ascended, bringing them into the cockpit. They had just gotten inside as the ZAFT soldiers bust the door open and gaped at the horned mobile suit.

"Another prototype?! How is that possible!"

"It doesn't matter, just blow it sky high!" They began taking pot shots at the mobile suit while the heavier-armed soldiers were setting up.

In the mobile suit, Shiro sat in the seat with Mir clutching the back of the 'chair'. He powered it up, and watched as the main screen came alive and the cockpit hummed.

**MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
**/Version NV8 - N099/**  
**G**eneral  
**U**nilateral  
**N**euro - Link

**D**ispersive  
**A**utonomic  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**

**O.M.N.I. Enforcer**

**GAT-X300 Unicorn**

"Hold onto something Mir!" He said, as Mir clutched the seat tighter. "We're going for a ride!"

* * *

The nearby GINNs were busy destroying military vehicles, not caring about civilians. In their minds, the Naturals could just go and die.

Suddenly, an explosion tore up the ground underneath them, and they floated backwards.

"What the hell was that?!" One pilot said before he was speared on a blue energy blast. The other four GINNs looked down in bewilderment at the ground before _something_ shot up and in the blink of an eye had destroyed another GINN.

"Anthony! Gibbs!" Matthew cried out, before they became aware of a shape behind them. The three remaining GINNs turned around, and were in awe.

A pure white mobile suit was standing tall against the artificial sun, the light shining on its armor. It had a six-pointed shield on its left arm, with a rifle in its right, still smoking from the two recent blasts. Matthew narrowed his eyes at it. _Some sort of beam weaponry? Those Naturals really do impress sometimes._

The Unicorn fixed itself into a battle stance. Inside, Shiro gave the GINNs a cold stare. "No one threatens my home!" And the Unicorn rose from myths and legends, to defend its home from these marauders.

* * *

**The peaceful life Kira, Shiro and their friends had taken for granted was cut short, now they've both been thrown into battle, trapped in machines they can barely comprehend. The mysterious Rau Le Creuset takes on the Hawk of Endymion Mu La Flaga, in a duel for power over the top secret weapons. Next, on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Unicorn, Their Names are Gundam. To the land of wars, defend your precious people, Strike and Unicorn!**


	2. Phase 02-Gundams Rising

_**Gundam SEED Unicorn**_

_**Phase 02: Gundams Rising**_

* * *

"Get behind the seat," Murrue ordered, and Kira oblidged. "At least we can save this one; I'm not sure about the Unicorn." Kira's eyes widened.

"Unicorn...?" Murrue paid him no heed, but set about powering up the mobile suit.

"Even I can pilot this one," Murrue said, and the main sensors and cameras came online. Kira looked to the left; the unit Athrun had gotten into was right there.

_Athrun...No, it can't be; that's not possible._ He looked back in time to see the welcome screen, and the resulting OS activating.

**MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
**/Version NV8 - N099/**  
**G**eneral  
**U**nilateral  
**N**euro - Link

**D**ispersive  
**A**utonomic  
**M**aneuver  
**G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**

**O.M.N.I. Enforcer**

**GAT-X105 Strike**

"Gundam..." Kira muttered. The newly christened GAT-X105 Strike stood tall beside the GAT-X303 Aegis. They faced each other. Ready to kill if necessary.

* * *

_**Opening 1: INVOKE**_

* * *

The colony was in chaos; civilians racing for the shelters, and the GINNs spearing everything on potshots, as well as the mobile armors in the sky, just being blown apart by the GINNs. Sai, Tolle and Kuzzey watched the carnage as the factory exploded. Out of the smoke shot up the two Gundams, Aegis and Strike.

The Aegis set down behind one of the GINNs while the Strike set down a little distance away. The GINNs eye turned to the Aegis.

"Athrun," Miguel Aiman greeted.

"Rusty failed," Miguel cursed in disbelief. "The other machine has been boarded by an Earth Forces officer."

The Strike was moving rather stupidly, almost on the tips of the toes, nearly crashing into the civilians nearby. However, Kira caught something on the cameras.

"What?" He said. "Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle. But where's Shiro and Mir?" He asked aloud, and a feeling of fear gripped him.

Miguel squeezed off two rounds at the Strike, who dodged to the left but the cockpit was shaking, Kira in discomfort. Storing the rifle behind the hip, Miguel drew the GINNs sword.

"I'll capture this machine." Miguel said to Athrun. "You make sure that you get yours out of here." At that the GINN charged at the Strike.

Athrun, meanwhile, had yet to move, his mind preoccupied with the brief meeting with the boy. _Kira...no, it can't be. There's no way he could've been there. _In order to busy himself, he set about rewriting the OS to more comfortable settings; even he could feel the resistance of the joints.

As Miguel slashed his sword at the Strike, it used its thrusters to gain some distance. However, Kira was sent, unfortunately, flying into Murrue's chest.

"Get out of my way!" Murrue ordered. "You want to die?!" Kira apologized before regaining his place. He cried out as the GINN flew and brought its sword down, ready to split the Strike in two.

However, Murrue pressed a button, and the Strike gained colour, becoming white, blue and red. It crossed its arms to block the sword strike. Miguel was suprised when all that happened was that red sparks were sent all over the place from the point of impact.

Murrue cringed as her arm hurt, and Miguel boosted away. "What's going on?! What the hell is that armor?!"

"_They're all equipped with a system known as Phase Shift Armor," _Athrun explained to Miguel. _"Once activated it renders the GINNs sword useless." _As he looked, the Aegis gained a red colour scheme.

Missiles screamed towards the Aegis, who activated the head-mounted CIWS and cut them down without effort. Athrun also destroyed a few military trucks.

"You gotta get out of here now." Miguel said to Athrun. "You can't stick around this place forever!" After a personal debate, the Aegis took off. Murrue and Kira watched it go before the GINN launched at them, ready to kill if needed.

* * *

In another location, the three GINNs were still looking at the Unicorn, who was still brandishing the beam rifle. The leader cursed.

"_Another prototype? Intel really screwed this one over!_" He complained, before raising the GINNs rifle and sending a few rounds at the Unicorn, who didn't even bother to block as the bullets pinged off the white armor with red sparks flying.

"_Huh! What the hell just happened?!_" The GINNs pilot roared in frustration. Inside the Unicorn, Shiro noticed the same look on Mir, before answering.

"This mobile suit has a special equipment called 'Phase Shift Armor'. It protects the mobile suits against physical attacks like ballistics and melee weapons. It's useful against these GINNs."

_Well, time to try and see if I can work this._ Shiro thought, as he pressed down on the pedals, sending the Unicorn flying upwards, and fired several beams at the GINNs which scattered immediately.

When he landed, one of the GINNs attempted to charge at him and decapitate the Unicorn. However, Shiro saw the attack coming and turned, letting the strike slide off of the shield, before grabbing a beam saber, igniting it. In a flash, the GINN was missing the primary weapon arm and the head. It stumbled backwards as Shiro kicked it away.

Mir looked in wonder at Shiro, who seemed to calm down as he fought the ZAFT mobile suits. "Wow...this is incredible." She noted, but Shiro paid her no heed, instead focusing on the two remaining GINNs.

"How the hell could a Natural match us?! We're Coordinators, the best of the best!" The one beside the leader roared, boosting at Shiro. The leader sighed before joining him, both with their swords in the right hands and rifles in the left.

Shiro fired a beam shot at the younger one, who dodged it, but gave him enough time to grab his shield and throw it in the space before them. Firing two shots at it, they reflected at the two GINNs, severing a leg from the first GINN and spearing the rifle of the leader.

The younger pilot ejected the smoking limb, but shot at Shiro, losing none of his ferocity. Having lost his shield, Shiro drew the other beam saber, dual-wielding, and leapt at the GINN. Since the GINN hadn't the benefit of two weapons, Shiro sliced lengthwise through the sword with his right beam saber, continuing down the GINNs arm before he stopped. The limb exploded, predictably.

Before his enemy could recover, he stored the left beam saber again and drew the beam rifle, firing three shots, piercing the head, the left arm and the right leg. It toppled over. Now, the Unicorn faced the last GINN.

_This mobile suit...it's certainly a powerful opponent._ The leader eyed it critically. _Those beam weapons make it vastly superior to our GINNs; I'll even warrant it's faster. But nothing ventured nothing gained!_

"Alright you two! We're going to go kamikaze style!" That caught the surviving pilots' attention. "I'll get in close and drive him near to you; then we all activate our self-destruct systems. Got it?" They nodded, and waited.

Shiro eyed the GINN critically, the way the eye swerved around showed it was communicating. He tightened his grip on the controls, and in turn the Unicorn grasped the sabers tighter. At the same moment, the GINN unleashed a barrage at bullets. He crossed the Unicorn's arms protectively in front of its face instinctively, but had no need to; the GINN was firing at the ground, generating smoke. Even the Unicorn's sensors couldn't pierce the cloud.

He waited a moment, before a bolt of white cut the air in front of him; he moved backwards, just in time to avoid a slice to the cockpit.

"Hold on Mir!" was her only warning as the Unicorn boosted back and grabbed the shield while storing the left beam saber back in the backpack. The GINN pressed constantly, and Shiro had to admit his opponent was skilled enough to press him in such a grunt unit.

Little by little, he was being pushed backwards, until he hit the remains of the two GINNs. Then, taken by suprise by how far he was pushed back, the GINN secured itself around him, mostly immobilizing him. He saw the pilots escaping, before realizing what was happening.

"Mir! Get out now!" He attempted to open the cockpit, but it was jammed due to the weight against it. As the GINNs grew brighter, he panicked and repeatedly moved the controls. Mir was crying in fear.

_Please. Something, anything. HELP ME!_ Suddenly, he felt detached from his body. The Unicorn moved on its own as it broke the GINNs arms through sheer strength, and then jetted away. It landed on a nearby road as the triple explosion went off.

Suddenly, Shiro began panting, and Mir looked at him in worry. _What...what was that? It was like the Unicorn was responding to me. _

"Are you alright Shiro?" Mir asked in concern. Though before he could answer, they heard a boom from some distance away. He turned the Unicorn and zoomed in. He widened his eyes and so did Mir.

A white, blue and red mobile suit not dissimilar to the Unicorn was battling a GINN, and doing so rather stupidly. It was obvious the OS hadn't been recalibrated yet; Shiro had felt the same resistance when he first boarded the Unicorn. But what concerned him was that was where the emergency stairs came out near.

"Wait, that's where Tolle and the others are!" Mir shouted in shock. "If that battle continues, they'll be killed!" Shiro nodded absentmindedly, attempting to gather his breath. Soon, he stopped and he turned the Uncorn fully.

"Well then," He said tiredly, despite Mir's worry. "Let's go and protect them!" The Unicorn gunned its thrusters, and took off towards the fight.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Strike engaged its CIWS, missing the GINN everytime. Then Kira noticed what Shiro had minutes before about the Unicorn. _The whole calibration's off. _

"Doesn't matter how good you're armor is..." Miguel smirked, slashing at the Strike. "_IF YOU CAN'T MOVE!_" He landed a slash on the Strike's shoulder, sending it crashing into a building, nearly crushing the civilians. Kira noticed them, as the Strike nearly backed into the civilians.

"Trying to pilot that mobile suit, you're way over your head, Natural!" Miguel roared, and sent the sword at the Strike's cockpit.

Suddenly, everything seemed to happen in slow motion to Kira, as he noticed his friends would be crushed if the Strike was forced back. Gritting his teeth, he reached across Murrue and pressed a button, getting the Strike to kneel down, letting the blade only graze the Strike's shoulder.

Not stopping there, he moved the thrusters so the Strike bashed into the GINN with the same shoulder, sending the GINN crashing into the road on its back. Sai, Tolle and Kuzzey looked in wonder, as did Murrue at Kira's determined face. _What is he...?_

"There are still people around here." Kira said as he began to fix the OS. "If you're going to pilot something like this, I'll make better use of it." Inside the GINN, Miguel's face was one of ill-concealed rage.

"How can you pilot something like this with such a bad OS?" Kira said; if there was one thing he hated, it was technology ruined by idiots who didn't know anything about computers.

"It hasn't yet reached the completion stage; it can't be helped!" Murrue quipped in response, her pride ticked. Instead, Kira asked her to move aside, and he rapidly typed, fixing the OS gradually as Murrue watched in wonder.

Miguel gunned his thrusters to max, shooting at the Strike, before Kira activated the CIWS forcing the GINN to slow momentarily.

"What?!" Miguel raged, before the GINN slashed its sword at the Strike's left side. However, unexepectedly, the Strike punched the GINN in the face, and sending it flying into another buildings, Miguel being rattled. With the brief reprieve, Kira set about improving the OS further.

"Take the calibration and reset the zero motor point at CPG. Connect control module to quasi-quartex modular ion pump." He continued listing off the various settings in his head, as he finally finished updating the OS.

"What's with this guy?! I should be better!" Miguel raged, and storing the GINNs sword, he drew the rifle and fired several rounds, some impacting the Strike and rattling the cockpit.

However, Kira put his foot down on the pedal and moved the thruster lever, sending the Strike flying into the sky, the GINN shooting after it, unaware of the white mobile suit rapidly closing in. Then the GINN pursued, but Miguel was bewildered by the fact the Strike was now avoiding all of the bullets now.

"Weapons..." Kira muttered as he brought up the weapons system. "Armor Schneider? That's all there is?" Kira gritted his teeth in irritation. The hips opened, and he drew the huge mobile suit knives and landed opposite Miguel, who shot off several more rounds at the Strike, who began to outrun the bullets.

"Damn piece of Earth trash!" Miguel roared, and Kira was bewildered. _No! Not here, not where they are!_ His rage filled, he gunned towards the GINN, slipped under Miguel's guard, stabbing a knife into the shoulder and then the neck. Miguel was irritated as he activated the self-destruct sequence. Murrue saw Miguel exit the GINN, and warned Kira.

"Step away from the GINN!" She ordered, and Kira wondered why. The GINN began to glow, and Kira shut his eyes as it began. Suddenly, the Strike was knocked aside, rattling Kira and knocking Murrue unconscious. As Kira fell, he saw the white, horned mobile suit grab the GINN and throw it away expertly, before drawing a rifle and pumping the corpse full of rounds. It exploded some distance away, at least, away from the Strike and the three remaining civilians.

_Unicorn..._ Kira remembered the other mobile suit Murrue had mentioned. _Is that the mobile suit she meant?_ As the Strike sat up on its backside, the Unicorn turned to it, and gazed over Sai, Kuzzey and Tolle before fixing its visored gaze at the Strike. Displayed proudly on the forehead, just below the horn, the text 'DUE X-300'. They all looked at it in suprise, and it stared them down...

Before kneeling on one knee and the mobile suit turned grey as it was powered off. The cockpit opened, and they waited in aprehension. Then a familiar duo poked their heads out.

"Hey guys!" Mir shouted to their friends, and they all sighed in relief, especially Kira; he had thought them dead. He was also amused as Shiro looked _very _uncomfortable with his arm wrapped around Mir as they were lowered to the ground by the line.

"What-! How did you guys get into that thing?" Sai asked incredulously, and Mir recounted the whole story, while Shiro looked at the Strike, still powered on.

"Who's piloting that mobile suit?" He asked, pointing at it, and the others looked at it, now, incuriosity. Kira was uncomfortable with the attention, but Murrue's state brought him back into the world. _I have to get her out of here._

He made the Strike kneel, and opened the cockpit while the Phase Shift dimmed, signifying it was powered off. He grabbed Murrue and lowered himself to the ground with the cord. Needless to say, they were all suprised.

"Kira! So that's where you ended up!" Shiro said good-naturedly, before noticing the bleeding woman in his grasp. Immediately, Sai took control of the situation.

"Alright, set up a place for her to lie down, and get some bandages if you can find them!" Kira and Shiro found emergency first-aid kits in their mobile suits, and Mir dutifully took the bandages out before Shiro grabbed a pair of tweezers and encouraged the bullet out before Mir cleaned the wound. Soon, Murrue was still unconscious but properly treated.

* * *

Inside the shaft, bodies were floating everywhere, some missing entire body parts and occassionally some interal organs floating about.

Natarle woke up with a bad headache, before she gasped at the sign of the body floating in front of her, drifting down to the ground before realizing something.

"The ship! Where's the _Archangel_?" Pushing off, she made her way further inside the great structure, unaware of the fighting going on inside the colony.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside in space, a GINN had forced the ship Mu escorted to list into the nearby colony wall, destroying it. Mu gritted his teeth; he had lost one of his MA Pilots and now that ship.

"Can't we do something about this difference in battle strength?" He launched the Zero's gunbarrels at the GINN he was pursuing. The GINN attempted to outrun the gun-laden platforms, before his rifle and then his arm were claimed by the bullets and railgun.

* * *

"Olor's been hit! Emergency landing! Fire crew to B Deck!" Ades was unnerved; that Moebius Zero was certainly more powerful than any others they had seen.

"In a simple battle such as this Olor's taken damage?" Ades wondered aloud.

"It seems we have an unforseen problem, a rather annoying fly buzzing around." Rau said philosophically, but he had a clue as to who the pilot was. An annoucement caught their attention.

"_Laser beacon from Miguel Aiman, it's an emergency!_" Now Rau understood urgency; Miguel was the most talented Green they had-he could've made Red in a year or two-but for this weapon to have damaged him so...

"If that weapon's effective enough to take out Miguel's mobile suit..." Rau floated out of his seat, towards the hangar. "It's reason enough we can't ignore the last one."

Flares went up near the _Vesalius_, and Mu frowned. "They're retreating? But there's still something..." A flash of white cut the air in front of him, and he gunned towards the colony. "What's this?"

"Tell me, do you feel my presence? Do you sense it in the same way I sense yours?" Rau Le Creuset said aloud. "An unfortunate fate, wouldn't you say, Mu La Flaga?" His white CGUE boosted in the same direction as Mu had, the red eye glowing ominously.

* * *

"Is anybody here? Anyone?" Natarle shouted into the ship, before she caught something that caused tears to come her eyes; a cap.

"No, dammit! Are there any survivors out there?" She shouted outwards, before she heard clanking, and turned towards the nearest door. A light shone into her eyes before it was turned away.

"It's Arnold Neumann, ma'am. Glad to see you're okay." They floated down the corridor, entering the two-legged _Archangel_.

"The only survivors are the few of us who were aboard the ship at the time of the explosion," Neumann filled Natarle in. "But, most of them are factory workers."

"Current status?" Natarle inquired. "What of the ZAFT vessels?"

"I've no idea," Neumann said frankly. "We've been busy enough finding out what's going on around here." As they entered the CIC, Natarle pressed a button and the lights turned on as well as displaying diagnostics.

"This _Archangel_ is quite the ship," Natarle said, impressed; and it took a lot to impress her. "It would take a lot more than this to sink it."

"However, there's a mountain of debris blocking off the harbour's exit," Neumann said. "We're completely trapped in here."

* * *

The Strike and Unicorn were currently kneeling on the ground, with Tolle and Kuzzey inspecting the Strike. Shiro was merely looking through the Unicorn's systems and database, finding information on the other stolen units.

_GAT-X102 Duel, a general purpose unit; GAT-X103 Buster, a heavy artillery unit; GAT-X303 Aegis, a transformable unit; GAT-X207 Blitz, a unit specializing in assassination and infiltration; and the GAT-X105 Strike, a variable unit with 'Striker Packs' to use in the field. _

So far, he had been able to discover what the serial numbers meant; -X100 frames were general purpose, from close range to long range; -X200 frames had some sort of special equipment or features while the –X300 frames could transform into an alternate mode.

But even though the Unicorn was the first in the –X300 series, he couldn't find a transformation mechanism, just a program called the NT-D. He had attempted to hack it, but there were too many 'sandboxes' protecting it; enough to keep even him and Kira out.

_These mobile suits..._Shiro mused. _They're _very _dangerous. But why were they here? _Shrugging, he jumped out of the Unicorn.

Meanwhile, Murrue awoke from a tempestuous sleep, to Mir's caring face, albeit confused and disoriented.

"Well, I see you're finally awake," Mir said nicely. "Hey Kira!" She called, and Kira knelt down, while Murrue's arm twitched in slight pain.

"You're better just lying still for now," He looked away though. "I do owe you an apology, I guess I got carried away there." Mir handed Murrue a bottle of water and offered it. She took it, taking a deep gulp as the refreshing liquid hit her dusty throat.

"Guys, stop playing around with it!" Sai scolding Tolle who was 'inspecting' the Strike's cockpit. Shiro came up next to Sai.

"He's right; you might damage it. It's not our property; it's best just to leave it alone." A shot echoed on the metal above Tolle's head, and they ducked down. Sai and Shiro turned to Murrue, who had a gun trained on them.

"I'm grateful for you kids saving me," Murrue said. "But you have been exposed to top-tier military secret; it's not something that civilians should be handling."

"All of you, over here." She gestured with her firearm, and they obeyed; Mir remembered the revolver Shrio had, but he seemed to forget about it. "Your names."

"Sai Argyle."

"Kuzzey Buskirk."

"Tolle Koenig."

"Miriallia Haw."

"Shiro Kaigan."

"Kira Yamato."

"And my name is Murrue Ramius," Murrue introduced herself formally. "An Earth Alliance Forces officer. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that I cannot permit any of you to leave." They were all outraged, though Shiro was a bit more calm, but nonetheless shaken.

"Despite the circumstances, the fact is that you've witnessed a highly-classified military project." She said, with her grip still strong on her sidearm. "Until I am able to notify the proper authorities, you have no choice but to remain with me at all times."

"That's the biggest bunch of crap I've heard!" Tolle shouted passionately. To give Murrue credit, she resisted the urge to put a bullet in his annoying head.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're citizens of Heliopolis; we're neutral." Sai said calmly. "We have nothing to do with the military or anything to do with it."

"What's the EAF doing on Heliopolis anyway?" Tolle wondered, and Kuzzey thought the same thing. "Yeah, I mean, that's how this started, isn't it?" Two shots were blasted into the air, bringing attention back to Murrue.

"Quiet down!" She ordered. "You kids don't understand anything, do you? You keep insisting you're neutral and aren't involved, but can you really distance yourself from this? You don't seriously think that's possible, do you? The EAF's most top-secret weapons were here, and you saw it."

"It makes sense," Shiro said mildly, and they paid attention to him. "Heliopolis is aligned with ORB; but if ORB is seen as having an alliance with the EAF, it gives ZAFT an excuse to invade ORB." They were all shocked, but Murrue nodded; like it or not, but they saw the truth.

"That's the veiny of it; it may seem harsh, but we're in the middle of a war, between PLANTs and Earth, between Coordinators and Naturals; outside of the world you live in."

"Alright, with that over with, you," She pointed at Kira. "Get inside the Strike and attempt to communicate with any friendly forces. Who piloted the Unicorn?" Shiro raised his hand. Murrue nodded to herself.

"You get inside it and guard the rest of us while the Strike is sending out comms. But," Murrue wondered, as they set about their tasks. "How did you find the Unicorn? It was in an abandoned warehouse here with the fuel valves needing adjustment." And so, for a third time, Mir recounted the whole encounter.

"You three go get the trailer marked five from a warehouse a block or two away," She ordered, but Tolle and Kuzzey looked indignant. "Well, get to it!" She raised her handgun threateningly, and they immediately scurried away. Kira grabbed a headset, before running into the Strike, but not powering on the mobile suit.

In contrast, Shiro climbed into the Unicorn and activated it, since it hadn't lost that much battery but he had to be careful. Activating it and then the Phase Shift, he grabbed the rifle in his right hand, and activated the sensors, keeping watch out.

"-X105 Strike, Earth Forces please respond!" Kira shouted over the comm, unaware the message was being received by the _Archangel_. He tried a numerous amount of times, before getting out and heading to Murrue.

"It's too faint; I'd need a boost or something to get a higher range." Murrue pursed her lips; she had a feeling that was the case. They heard the roar of an engine, and the Unicorn looked on curiously as the trailer marked '5' pulled up.

"The number 5 trailer; this is the one you wanted, right?" Sai asked, and Murrue affirmed, getting up. Sai hummed rudely at Murrue, waiting to be ordered again. God she wished corporal punishment was still legal.

"Yes, that's the one, thank you for your assistance; mount the Striker Pack onto the Strike; once that's done, try to contact the EAF again, Kira." He nodded, and maneuvered the Strike to kneel in front of the trailer, which opened, revealing a high-power cannon, missile launcher and other offensive equipments.

_So the Strike is meant as a multi-role unit. _Shiro thought. _Now I can see it being the most valuable of the five. _He looked at the Unicorn's controls in wonder. _Why does it feel so _natural_ to pilot something like this? _

"The power pack, which one is that?" Kira shouted to Murrue in confusion over the contents of the trailer.

"The weapons and power pack are integrated; just mount the whole thing!" Murrue said and Kira nodded, as the equipment raised on a crane-like platform that secured itself to the main mobile suit.

"The evacuation order's still in place, I guess," Mir said morosely. "I wonder if our families have gotten to the shelters?" It was something all of them were wondering, except Kira; his parents resided in ORB.

But Shiro was worried about his parents; the last he had spoken to them was several hours ago at breakfast. _I hope they got away; I hope._ They heard an explosion as part of the main shaft exploded into shards, and two shapes emerged; a white-painted CGUE, and a Moebius Zero unit missing it's gunbarrels.

Shiro placed the Unicorn in a defensive position, rifle raised against the ZAFT enemy; he knew the Zero MA was EAF property, so he considered it a friendly, for now. Rau saw the two units, and jetted towards them, rifle raised against the Strike.

As final preparations began for the Launcher Striker, Shiro raised his rifle to bear and fired several shots aimed at the CGUE's weapon arm, head and cockpit.

A bolt of white cut across Rau's mind, and he dodged the shots, just barely. He saw the Unicorn, and wondered. _Miguel didn't mention about a sixth unit. If that's the case, I'll have to eliminate it too!_

"_How'd he dodge all those shots? He must be a ZAFT Ace!" _An unfamiliar voice cut through Rau's mind; though it was heavily muffled, it was there, and he gained a blood-thirsty smirk. "Well well, it seems we have family on Earth after all, Mu La Flaga!"

"_It seems we have family on Earth after all, Mu La Flaga!" _A silky voice cut through Shiro's mind, and he clutched it in pain. _What-what the hell's going on? _Gathering himself, he raised the rifle again, even as he heard the same voice a second time.

"_I'll just have to take you down as well!" _The CGUE's pilot-it could only be him-shouted as he sliced off the Zero's linear cannon before jetting towards the civilians and the two Gundams.

"I won't let you!" Shiro shouted as he blasted at the CGUE again; it seemed to miss everytime. _Why aren't my shots connecting? _Shiro thought in frustration. _I hit those GINNs easily enough! _

An explosion cut them off as the combat briefly seized. A huge fireball came into existence. And they watched as a huge legged ship shot through it, like an angel ascending to heaven.

_The _Archangel... Murrue thought, as the aptly-named ship turned its cannons on the enemy CGUE, Lohengrins smoking.

* * *

**Kira and Shiro are forced to become warriors to save their friends, as the **_**Archangel **_**and the remaining two Gundams are still prisoners inside Heliopolis, a land now consumed by the war. ZAFT forces launch another assault that puts the whole research satellite in danger of crumbling in space, as Rau Le Creuset, ZAFT's White Crucible leads them, and two young friends meet up once again. But this time, in combat.**

**Next on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Unicorn: The Crucible Arrives! Shoot down the menaces that threaten Heliopolis, Strike and Unicorn!**


	3. Phase 03-The Crucible Arrives

_**Gundam SEED Unicorn**_

_**Phase 03: The Crucible Arrives**_

* * *

"I'll destroy you now!" Rau shouted as he shot several rounds at the powered-down Strike while dodging the Unicorn's shots. Kira cried out in alarm, before the equipment finished installing, displaying the statistics.

"Hyper impulse cannon 'Agni', and vulcan/gunpod on the shoulder..." Kira muttered before activating the PSA of the Strike, turning it back into its white-blue-red scheme. The Strike stood tall, as the large legged ship emerged from the red cloud, and Rau was frustrated, understandably.

"The warship...they failed to destroy it?" Meanwhile, Mu's defanged Moebius Zero listed towards the ship, wondering the same thing.

_A warship inside a colony...? _Nevertheless, he gained permission to land, and so he did.

"Look, it's the _Archangel!_" Murrue shouted as she and the teens looked at it in wonder, at this goliath of ships.

* * *

_**Opening 1: INVOKE**_

* * *

"We broke through the harbor's exit." Neumann said to Natarle. "We're in the colony's interior."

"Morgenroete's been destroyed." His neighbour said as well. "The Strike and Unicorn, they've been activated-no, they're both in combat!" Natarle groaned.

"Oh great; just what we needed." Natarle snarked, as the _Archangel_ continued its escape. As Rau closed in, she barked orders. "Take evasive action, to starboard!" Rau's shots missed as the mighty ship swerved to the left. Taking the queue, he boosted towards the Gundams.

"Using Phase Shift...but how about this?" Rau questioned, as he raised his rifle and fired several rounds at the civilians. Kira noted the danger, and shielded them with the Strike's knee. The Unicorn continued to shoot, and Shiro grew ever more frustrated.

"Damn! Just stay still!" He growled, as the Unicorn flanked the Strike, guarding the civilians from both sides. Rau looked at the two Gundams in wonder.

"Not even an enhanced APSV..." He thought aloud, before smirking. _'I am Death, destroyer of worlds'. They fit the bill quite nicely. _

"Ready aft missile tubes seven through ten and standby to fire on my command." Natarle ordered. "Target; enemy mobile suit." The rear missile launchers opened, revealing bulky missiles. She turned to her high right.

"Laser designator! You are not to hit the shaft or the ground, do you hear me? That's an order!" He looked uncomfortable, before Natarle focused back on Rau. "Fire!"

Rau grimaced; it would normally be easy for him to evade the missiles, but these were faster than the norm. He spiralled around, weaving his way to the shaft and let it take the damage of the high-power missiles.

The colony's shaft began to fray and collapse, and the teens on the ground screamed in terror. Kira was understandably shocked.

"What? You've got to be kidding me!" He pressed a button, a visor sliding over his eyes at the same time the Agni slung under the Strike's right arm. It locked onto Rau, fortunate because he was occupied with the _Archangel_. The Strike grabbed the trigger with its left hand, the right steadying it.

"Wait! That too-!" Murrue shouted, before being cut off as Kira fired the Agni, sending a huge beam of white and red energy hurling at Rau, who grimaced and jetted to the left; saving his life but not his CGUE's right arm and rifle.

The beam continued to the colony wall. The result was delayed; for a moment it seemed nothing had happened, then a red burst of light echoed, and the inky black void of space was exposed. Kira was in shock as he looked at the damage he had caused. Sensing his chance, Rau made for the hole.

But Shiro had seen the enemy CGUE boost away, and he activated the Unicorn's own boosters, sending him at Rau, his Gundam much faster than the CGUE Rau piloted. As a bolt of white alerted Rau to the danger, it was too late.

Shiro had drawn a beam saber with his right hand, and made a vertical slash with it. Rau defended with his composite shield, but that was butter underneath the superheated beam saber, and was sliced so. Taking advantage again, Shiro ducked down and made a horizontal slash at the CGUE's legs.

Rau boosted back, but not before he lost his right leg, leaving his CGUE with only two limbs. Shiro made to attack again, before Rau did the unexpected; he dodged _under_ the slice that would've claimed his CGUE's head, and bodytackled the Unicorn, unbalancing it enough he could escape. By the time Shiro righted himself, Rau had escaped.

"How was that possible? Two mobile suits of such strength..." Rau muttered absentmindedly. That pressure he had felt bothered him; ever since Endymion he had only felt Mu, so who was that mysterious boy?

_He got away..._Shiro narrowed his eyes before returning to his friends, the Unicorn kneeling as the Strike did likewise.

"The enemy mobile suit is retreating." Neumann's neighbour said. Natarle sighed; they had not been able to destroy it, but the Unicorn and Strike had done enough damage. She gave the order for the _Archangel _to land.

* * *

Meanwhile on the _Vesalius_, the Aegis was undergoing analysis; powered down, of course, so the armor was gray not red.

"_All unauthorized personnel are restricted from areas containing the captured mobile suits. Security clearance is in effect for all maintenance crew until such time as it is determined the captured mobile suits pose no immediate danger. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action."_

The mechanics carried crates around, virtually weightless due to the zero-gravity, while in the Aegis, Athrun was silent as he scanned the OS for problems, but with images of Kira popping into his head at times, delaying him for several seconds.

"Sorry." He apologised to the mechanics, as they were in alarm over the OS. "I started working on yours too, by mistake." He said sheepishly, while the lead mechanic turned to him.

"No, it's quite alright." The mechanic said amicably. "We've completed external inspections and recharging. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm finished as well." The keyboard slid back into place. "How did they manage to use that OS?" He gasped as he saw Commander Le Creuset's CGUE come back into the hangar, but that wasn't what suprised him.

Rau's mobile suit was missing an arm and a leg literally, as well as the composite shield. Fire squads swarmed the deck as the white CGUE plunged into the safety net. They looked in wonder at the damage done.

_That's impossible..._As the CGUE began undergoing repairs, Athrun's thoughts turned. _But if it was him..._

* * *

The Strike and Unicorn were powered down, and kneeling inside the right catapult. Kira lowered his friends to the floor, while Shiro just completed another scan of the Unicorn and the surroundings.

"Lieutenant Ramius!" Murrue heard, as Natarle ran up to them with a sizable crowd, gazing at the Strike and Unicorn. She saluted, and Murrue saluted back.

"It's a tremendous relief to see that you're safe." Natarle said. "And with the Strike and Unicorn as well." She wondered how the Unicorn had been retrieved; as far as she and the crew knew, the Unicorn was undergoing minor repairs to the fuel valves.

"You as well. I'm pleased to see you protected the _Archangel_." Murrue smiled warmly. "You do realize you saved us?" She asked rheutorically, as both cockpits of the machines opened, with Kira and Shiro climbing out.

Natarle looked at them in curiosity as they both grabbed the line and lowered down to the floor. Murdoch, the head mechanic, groaned.

"Come on, would someone tell me what's going on here?" He complained. "They're just kids; just learned to shave and their piloting those?" As the friends gathered together, Natarle turned back to Murrue.

"Lieutenant Ramius, what's going on?" She asked confusedly. Murrue was about to reply, before a whistle cut her off. Walking towards her was a familiar blond man in a blue flightsuit.

"Wow, what a surprise." Mu said as he looked at the machines, opposite each other. "I'm Lieutenant La Flaga, of the Seventh Orbital Fleet, at your service. It's an honor." He said as he saluted, with Natarle and Murrue introducing themselves formally as well.

"I would like permission to come aboard this vessel." Mu said formally, even though he had already landed. "May I ask who's in command around here?" Natarle seemed reluctant to say, which Murrue picked up on.

"The captain and all the superior officers of this ship perished in battle." She said. "Therefore I believe it is Lieutenant Ramius who is next in command." Murrue was suprised, before she elaborated.

"Only a dozen of us are left sir, mostly non-commissioned officers." Natarle listed. "Fortunately, I was in the shaft and managed to survive."

"You mean the captain's..." Murrue said, shocked. "It can't be." Mu put a hand to his face.

"Oh man, what an unmitigated disaster." He said to himself. "In any case, please grant me permission Lieutenant Ramius; the ship I was assigned to engaged the enemy and was downed."

"Oh! Sure, permission granted." Murrue said in a stutter, still shocked at the recommendation of Natarle. Mu turned towards the group of friends.

"And, who are they?" He asked, mostly pointing towards Shiro and Kira, who he had seen exiting the mobile suits.

"As you can see, they are teenaged civilians, for some reason he was in the factory area during the attack. I brought him aboard the G-Weapon." Murrue explained. "The one with the gray hair discovered the Unicorn after being separated from the rest of the group. Their names are 'Kira Yamato' and 'Shiro Kaigan'."

"Thanks to Kira's efforts, we were able to defeat a GINN, in addition securing the Strike." As the crowd bubbled, Mir noticed Shiro wasn't speaking of his five GINN kills. She decided to let him have his privacy. She could not say the same for Tolle.

"What? A GINN?" Natarle said in shock; the G-Weapons hadn't even been completed yet, but this boy had managed to defeat a GINN with it.

"Hey, you're forgetting Shiro!" Tolle yelled, and Shiro made to silence him before he continued. "He took down _five _GINNs after he found that unit!" The murmur continued ever higher, and Shiro seemed to dislike the attention given to him.

"I came as an escort for the young officers specially trained to pilot them. Where can I find them?" Mu asked, even though he suspected the answer that would be given.

"The bombs detonated near the control booth," Natarle said, and Mu turned to her. "The captain was welcoming them there, and they died when the bombs went off." Mu briefly mourned those prosperous young men, before turning to Kira and Shiro, walking towards them.

"So tell me; you guys are Coordinators, right?" Kira and Shiro seemed taken aback by the accusation, as did their friends and the staff of the _Archangel_.

"Yes." Kira replied reluctantly, and the men bore their rifles at Kira, before Tolle shielded Kira by placing himself in the weapon's way. Mu turned to Shiro for his answer, who sighed.

"I really don't know." They were puzzled by Shiro's statement; shouldn't he have said he was? "I was adopted when I was about five years old, and I don't remember my life before then. If my adopted parents know if I am, they never told me."

This little tidbit had been only told in the strictest confidence to his friends and Kira; they had suspected he had either been a Coordinator, what with the hair color, or he had been adopted, since his in-all-but-name father Banagher Links had brown hair and eyes while his wife Audrey had orange hair and a set of green eyes. Nevertheless, the guards still held up their rifles, while the crew were sent reeling.

_A guy who doesn't know if he's a Coordinator or not; interesting. _Mu noted, as the tense atmosphere did not relent.

* * *

Meanwhile, aboard the _Vesalius_, Rau was debriefing the surviving teams of the ZAFT invasion force. They had been uneasy when three of them had brought back data of a second surviving G-Weapon.

"So, there _was _a sixth unit at Heliopolis, and it had been hidden because of some reason..." Rau muttered, the others being very indignant. "You've saved my hide with this, Miguel. I would've been a laughing stock back at HQ, losing six GINNs in battle against mobile suits created by the Earth Forces."

"No one would have believed it was possible. You are aware of the machines originally incomplete OS? With that in mind, I cannot fathom why those two units were able to maneuver so well. But I will make one thing absolutely clear; we cannot allow them to keep possession of it, no matter what. If we cannot capture them, we will destroy them, along with that warship."

"Miguel, Matthew, Olor, prepare to launch! You have been authorized to use Weapons Configuration Type-D. Let's see you put it into use." The four present ZAFT soldiers saluted, with the three Greens pushing off towards the hangar.

"Captain Ades," Athrun said to Ades. "Please allow me to sortie as well." Ades turned to him in suprise, but Rau got to him before Ades could.

"You have no mobile suit; but you have also completing a vital part of the mission, securing one of the units." Athrun looked indignant.

"But sir-"

"Let it go this time, Zala." Ades ordered. "Miguel, Olor and Matthew have more to prove, given the humiliation they suffered." Athrun looked away, deep in thought.

* * *

"What do you think you're doing?" Tolle shouted at the EAF armed guards. "Kira's a Coordinator and Shiro might be one, but their not enemies! Didn't you just hear about what happened?!"

"Lower your rifles men." Murrue ordered, and the soldiers complied, albeit unwillingly. "When you think about it, it isn't very mysterious; after all, Heliopolis is controlled by a neutral nation." The rest of the people knew 'neutral' wasn't really politically correct, but held back.

"It would make sense to find some Coordinators who came here to avoid any involvement in the war. Am I wrong?" She asked Kira, who nodded.

"You're right, especially since I'm a First Generation Coordinator." Kira explained. The crew turned to each other to discuss it.

"Which means that your parents are Naturals." Mu clarified, before placing his hands behind his neck. "Well, sorry for creating such a commotion. I was only curious, that's all."

"On the way here, I saw the pilots use simulations in order to prepare for using them," Mu said as he looked at the behemoths. "They had to struggle, just to get them to move."

"What do we do now, then?" Natarle asked, as Mu turned back towards her.

"What do we do now?" Mu asked rheutorically. "I've been shot down and the Le Creuset team is waiting outside. He's a persistant fellow. If you ask me, we can't spend too much time here."

* * *

"D-Type Equipment, eh?" Dearka Elsman asked, as the GINNs were loaded with the destructive weaponry. Athrun was aboard the _Vesalius_, while the other three Reds were on the _Gamow_, the companion ship to Le Creuset's Nazca-class _Vesalius_.

"I take it Commander Le Creuset is planning to storm a fortress or something." Yzak said as he drank from a canteen.

"What do you think is going to happen to Heliopolis?" Nicol Amalfi asked, rightly concerned; they had gotten what they came for, so what now?

He heard Yzak and Dearka's snorts of derision of ORB being a 'neutral state', and he turned back and looked at the Blitz, thinking.

* * *

Meanwhile, supplies were being loaded onto the _Archangel_, and the Strike and Unicorn were undergoing maintenance and slight repairs plus cleaning for the Unicorn; it had only been slightly caught in the explosions of the three GINNs. Mu's Zero was currently being repaired as well.

In the civilian quarters, Kira and Shiro were both in two bunks, sleeping due to exhaustion. Their friends watched over them.

"I'm impressed they can sleep at a time like this." Kuzzey observed, as the other four looked at them.

"They're both exhausted, particularly Shiro; I saw him panting after beating the last of the GINNs." Mir said, as she looked caringly at the two friends asleep. "Today was difficult for them, you know?"

"It was tough, huh?" Kuzzey repeated. "Well, there's no arguing with _that_, but-"

"What are you getting at Kuzzey?" Sai asked pointedly, before Kuzzey tipped his head up.

"I'm just saying it was tough on both of them, that' all. But Kira and Shiro were telling us how they rewrote the OS for those machines. When did they do that?" Mir popped up to the question.

"Well, Shiro rewrote it after we boarded the Unicorn, and he said he felt 'resistance'. It took him a few minutes of tinkering, but he fixed it. But I don't know how Kira could've rewrote it in seconds."

"I've suspected Kira was a Coordinator; they're byproducts of genetic engineering." Kuzzey said aloud. "They do these mind-blowing things, but to them it's just a little bit tough; and those ZAFT guys are like that as well. Do the Earth Forces stand a chance against that?"

* * *

"The colony interior is almost completely evacuated." Murrue explained to Mu and Natarle, in her new office. "But I'm told what just happened rose the danger level to nine."

"That means the shelters have been locked down completely..." Mu said thoughtfully. "But what are we going to do with those kids?"

"Lieutenant Ramius detained those children because they've been exposed to military secrets; we can't exactly let them go free." Natarle elaborated. Mu got at what she was implying, and he frowned.

"So you're suggesting we have them join us in our escape?" Mu asked. "Once we're out of here, we'll be involved in some pretty heavy fighting." They turned their attention to Murrue, who coughed to get attention.

"I think we're going to have to rely on the Strike and Unicorn. What do you think our chances of escaping are if we don't use them?" She asked at Natarle's questioning gaze.

"Why don't you pilot the Strike, Lieutenant La Flaga?" Natarle asked Mu, who threw his arms out in a gesture.

"Do you honestly think I'll be able to pilot that thing? Have you looked at what those kids have done to the OS'? A regular human being couldn't possibly use it after those mods." Natarle started in agitation. "Even if I could pilot it, the Unicorn would need a pilot as well."

"In any case, it seems inappropriate to let civilians be put in charge of such valuable military hardware, especially one Coordinator and one unconfirmed one."

"Then we should just leave and let ourselves become targets?" Mu asked Natarle, making a point. "Well?"

* * *

The three GINNs launched from the _Vesalius_, while Athrun hijacked the Aegis after sneaking aboard it. The restraints lifted as the Aegis walked to the catapult.

"What? Athrun Zala just launched in a captured unit?" Ades asked shocked at the subordination. He thought-incorrectly-Athrun wanted the thunder to himself. "Recall him!"

"Let him go." Rau said, suprisingly. "We're done with the data extraction; this may in fact prove quite interesting. Imagine, three of the Earth Forces mobile suits clashing together." Rau looked as the Aegis and GINNs fly off.

* * *

"Electrical interference throughout the colony!" Chandra said. "N-Jammer levels rising!" Natarle and Mu looked at him; in the six hours since this began, ZAFT was already launching an assault?

"It appears he won't wait until we head out, that bastard." Mu added in a tone. "They know we can't fire inside, but that won't stop them."

"I'm not gonna do it!" Kira said at the civilian quarters, looking defiantly at Murrue. "Please don't get us involved in this war any more!". Murrue sighed, and looked sympathetic.

"You may be right in saying there's a war going on outside our world, but we don't want any part of it! That's why we moved into neutral territory!" However, they gained a shock as Shiro stepped forward.

"I'll pilot the Unicorn." He declared, and Kira looked at him in suprise; why would he want to pilot that machine again?

"Kira, we have friends here, and we are the only people who can protect this ship. Are you telling me you're willing to let them all die?" Though Shiro's tone wasn't angry, it was disappointed-sounding. Before Kira could reply, an announcement cut through the entire ship.

"_Lieutenant Ramius, come to the bridge at once!" _Murrue walked over to a terminal, and pressed a button, bringing up the SOUND ONLY display.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

"_Mobile suits are approaching us." _Mu's voice sounded, and they all gasped. _"Please get to the bridge and assume command; you're the captain now!"_ It was Murrue's turn to jump.

"_I may hold seniority, but I don't know the first thing about this ship." _He elaborated. Murrue looked down.

"Alright, prepare the _Archangel_ for launch; all hands to Level One battlestations. What about your mobile armor, Lieutenant?" She asked as she heard a note of exasperation in his tone.

"_Negative; repairs aren't fully completed yet." _Murrue asked him to take control of the CIC, and turned to the Heliopolis teens again.

"You heard it for yourselves; we're entering battle again." She said to them. "With the shelters on a Hazard Nine level, I can't let any of you off the ship now. Let's just hope we can escape this disaster and leave Heliopolis behind." Kira clenched his fist.

"What more do you want?!" He shouted at Murrue, while Tolle tried to warn him. "There might just be the Unicorn, but you're going to force me to pilot the Strike, aren't you!" Murrue and Shiro walked off towards the hangar. Kira debated within himself whether or not to follow. He did.

Back in the CIC of the _Archangel_, Murrue was issuing commands. "Our top priority is to escape Heliopolis. Be careful not to damage the colony during battle."

In the hangar, the Strike and Unicorn occupied both of the linear catapults. The Unicorn was being equipped with its six-edged shield and beam rifle, while the Strike was being equipped with the Sword Striker.

"Now its the Sword Striker? That should prevent a repeat of last time." He pressed a button as Shiro did likewise, activating the Phase Shift of both units.

"_Hey, Kira?" _Shiro's transmission cut through the cockpit of the Strike. _"Be careful out there." _He warned, and Kira warned him back.

"You too. Take care of yourself." And they whittled down the minutes until launching, nervous beyond all comprehension.

"Heat source detecting; a GINN!" Mu shouted, before shouting again in a worried voice. "They're equipped with heavy artillery! That's used for taking out bases! What are they thinking?!" The colony wall exploded, allowing two more GINNs in as well as the Aegis following.

"Two more GINNs from another district! But...the –X303! Its the Aegis!"

Back in the catapults, the two mobile suits occupying them were thrust forward, and Natarle began issuing commands.

"Arm the Corinthos; target the GINN." Murrue turned to Natarle, informing her that Phase Shift could withstand projectiles, and ordered the cannons ready to fire at will.

Out of the top of the two 'legs', a two-barreled cannon came out of each of them, aiming at the GINNs, and immediately fired, scattering the team of four mobile suits.

"Olor, Matthew, you guys get the ship!" Miguel ordered, before he turned to Athrun. "You and me'll take care of those two mobile suits; show us what you're made of for disobeying orders!"

Kira drew the "Schwert Gehewr" anti-ship sword, and Kira was impressed at the range; it certainly would be more than enough to defeat that GINN. Meanwhile, Shiro stored the rifle and drew a beam saber, jetting towards the Aegis, who also activated a beam saber from its arm.

"You're going down!" Miguel roared, as he fired the bazooka at the Strike, which Kira made jet upwards, though the shot hit the shaft, putting even more strain on it and sending tendons down, hitting the ground. Kira was shaken at the damage caused, while Miguel laughed in his cockpit.

"Stupid Naturals; they deserve it!" He shouted before firing another round, and Kira dodged once more, with the bazooka hitting another building.

Meanwhile, Shiro was engaging Athrun. He jetted towards the Aegis, making for a horizontal slash across the cockpit, but Athrun dodged to the side, aiming to take down the weapon arm before slicing the Unicorn in half. Unfortunately, Shiro once again experienced the white flash, and boosted backwards before boosting towards the Aegis, parrying the blow with his shield. Athrun did the same, putting both machines at a stalemate.

_This guy's good_... Shiro noted, as the Gundams broke apart, and he stored the beam saber before firing several shots at the Aegis, which switched to MA Mode and outran the blasts. _This is gonna be tough! _

In the cockpit of the Aegis, Athrun was dumbfounded by this enemy, though grateful for the distraction from Kira. _How can a Natural pilot a mobile suit so well? The original OS was so bad it was sluggish. _Athrun shook his head clear of thoughts, before firing a blast from the Aegis' "Scylla" 580mm built-in hyper-impulse cannon, which forced Shiro to boost downwards to dodge the blow.

So, they both drew their beam rifles, and began to trade blasts, with the Aegis escaping the beams all together, but the Unicorn suffered several gouges to its armor, showing Athrun's superior experience in mobile suit combat.

"Damn it!" Shiro cursed, as they continued to trade beam blasts and parried blows, showing just exactly how powerful the Alliance's new mobile suits were.

Meanwhile, Kira was still dueling Miguel, whose bazooka blasts missed entirely, damaging more of the colony. "I can't keep dodging his attacks and prevent damage to the colony." He grunted with inner conflict, before another bazooka caught him unawares, and he blocked it with the makeshift shield on the left arm, which in actuality was a "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor.

"Yes! Did I get it?" Miguel shouted in triumph, before he saw a shocking sight. The Strike was wielding its powerful sword, drawn back for a slash. He dodged to his left, firing another blast which the Strike dodged as well.

Athrun was keeping an eye on the battle as he simultaneously fought the Unicorn to a standstill. _Miguel...! _However, his brief respite cost him, and the Unicorn was able to land a slash to the Aegis' shoulder. Athrun managed to dodge most of the beam blade, saving the limb from destruction, but it had a nasty slash mark across it, marring the previous unscathed surface.

_I can't afford to be distracted right now! _With that in mind, Athrun took out his beam saber, and clashed with the Unicorn. This time, however, he forced the blades downward, before pushing them away and kicking the Unicorn away with a blow to the torso. Shiro groaned as the hit forced him into the back of the cockpit seat, and he momentarily blacked out. But that was enough for Athrun, who boosted off towards Miguel's fight.

The two other GINNs, meanwhile, were engaging the _Archangel_. One of them fired three salvos from the leg mounted launchers aimed at the heavy cannons, but were easily cut down by the CIWS, but the mighty ship did not escape unscratched.

"Number Four weapons bank hit! Sealing the bulkheads on the double!" In the hangar, Kojiro Murdoch was groaning as he was sent flying. The other GINN fired the four huge missiles on its arms at the _Archangel_, where the alarm sounded.

"Intercept the missiles!" Natarle called out from her console, but one of her fellow officers said they didn't have enough time.

"Alright, give me manual targetting control!" Mu ordered. "Keep command Leesa!" Murrue grunted in annoyance; the first time he said her first name he just _had _to say her cousins one.

"Now starboard forty degrees, full speed!" Murrue called out, and they managed to dodge all of the missiles, which unfortunately impacted against the colony's interior.

Kira made to slash at the GINN, but Miguel dodged the slice, before aiming at the Strike, which dodged once again. Miguel was now getting exceedingly impatient and irritated, firing follow-up shots, which the Strike dodged each time.

"Damn, it's quick!" He saw Athrun approaching and opened communications. "Get behind it Athrun!" Kira noticed the Aegis approaching and recognized it.

_It's that mobile suit from before! Athrun! _Kira wondered, and Athrun thought the same thing. The Aegis distracted Kira by dashing past it,

"I've got you now!" Miguel roared, and he fired another volley at Kira, who dodged upwards and threw the "Midas Messer" beam boomerang, which Miguel dodged rather nicely, and who roared in triumph.

"I've got you now!" Miguel shouted, unaware of the beam boomerang curving backwards, until it had sliced right through the GINN's legs. "What!"

However, he focused quickly, and as the Strike made to slash him in half, he sacrificed the D-Type weaponry, letting it explode in the Strike's slash, but at the cost of the GINNs legs. He gritted his teeth; no matter what, this Natural was very talented at this. He opened communications with Athrun.

"Athrun, this GINN's trashed! I'm heading back to the _Vesalius_. You stay and take care of that mobile suit!" Miguel ordered. As much as he wanted to blast that fucker to Kingdom Come, he couldn't prove himself if he got killed.

Shiro awoke a minute or so later, and he dimly felt blood ooze from a cut on his forehead. He groaned as he righted the Unicorn, and saw the GINNs attacking the _Archangel_. He also saw Kira beat that GINN, which flew off, and watched the Strike begin to fight the Aegis. He supressed his worry and boosted towards the _Archangel_, ignoring his pain.

As the _Archangel _continued the deadly dance against the GINNs, Mu made to aim at one of them who was dangerously close to the shaft; but he wasn't needed. Shiro flew upwards, and carved vertically through the GINN, splitting it in half from top to bottom.

"_Archangel_, this is the –X300 Unicorn, engaging the remaining GINN. Don't hit the colony!" However, Mu had pressed down on the trigger one second too late, and Shiro was forced to boost downwards to avoid the blast, which obliterated the remains of the first GINN, but hitting the colony in turn.

Mu voiced his thoughts. "GODDAMNITSHIT!"

"Olor! Damn him!" Matthew said, recognising the white mobile suit from the previous encounter. He turned to the Unicorn, and deployed the six leg missiles, which screamed towards the Unicorn. However, Shiro activated his CIWS, cutting them down, before jetting towards Matthew at an incredible speed.

Gritting his teeth, Shiro fired a beam rifle shot at one of the launchers, which Matthew dodged before firing the four heavy missiles at the Unicorn. Shiro managed to shoot down two and dodge one, but those two impacted against the colony, further damaging the interior.

"You bastard!" Shiro shouted, his thoughts filled with memories of Heliopolis, and his grip tightened around the controls a considerable amount.

"I won't let you..._I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!_" He roared, and a huge bolt of white cut across his whole mind, linking it to the Unicorn.

He gasped as the display began to change; all the monitors retreated into the sides and ceiling of the cockpit, with the main camera display actually _surrounding _him, giving him a complete 360 degree vision of the scene outside. The main terminal lowered, and displayed a message.

**-Quantum Brainwaves detected. Activating NT-D program; releasing internal limiters-**

_**-Begin Song; ZIPS by T.M. Revolution-**_

Shiro wondered about the announcement across the main terminal, but recognised the program. _NT-D! That's the program I couldn't hack!_ However, something even more amazing was happening the Unicorn on the outside, which Matthew and the _Archangel_ saw occur.

The Unicorn's armor began to slide out of place and the seams appeared to retract and plugged into hardpoints that had been revealed. Underneath the armor, the newly exposed joints were now pulsing with red energy. The horn split down the middle, becoming a yellow v-fin, and the faceplate retracting into the sides, revealing a face similar to the Strike, but more refined. The yellow optics flashed.

He was shocked at the power now flowing through him. He raised his hands to his face; for some reason, they seemed to be flickering. Placing his hands back on the controls, his face tightened in resolve, and he engaged Matthew's GINN.

Aboard the _Archangel_, the teenagers and the crew alike were shocked at the transformation, most particularly the four friends.

"What just happened to the Unicorn?" Natarle shouted, before Murrue managed to reply, having read up on the Unicorn.

"The Unicorn's designation is –X300, which means it has a transformation module installed. I suppose this is the Unicorn's alternate mode. Incredible..." They watched as Shiro charged at Matthew, Beam Tonfa on both arms activating, having discarded the shield.

_Shiro..._ Mir thought, worried about Shiro. '_What price do you have to pay for that power?' _She quoted her grandfather in her mind.

Matthew was beyond suprised; that mobile suit had just transformed, and attempted to blast it with a heavy bazooka stored on the back, before the Unicorn dashed forward, nimbly dodging the blasts, before Shiro raised his leg and smashed into Matthew's GINN's torso, sending him flying.

"What the hell just happened!" He shouted, as he stored the bazooka and fired more salvos. Shiro's face went into a grimace, before using the Unicorn's CIWS to destroy them like before, and then dashing right up to the GINN.

In a flash the Unicorn used its Beam Tonfa to slice off the GINNs arms, and as Matthew kicked at him, Shiro did so as well, destroying Matthew's right leg. As Matthew attempted to retreat, the Unicorn put its thrusters to nearly max, and reeled back its clenched right fist, the Beam Tonfa flickering dangerously.

"_TAKE THIS!_" Shiro shouted, as he plunged the Beam Tonfa deep into Matthew's GINN, and the Tonfa came out of the other end. As the GINN sparked, Shiro retreated away from it, the Beam Tonfa returning to their original position. Then, he saw the Sword Strike fighting the Aegis, and he boosted towards them, full of resolve.

_Don't worry Kira. I'm coming!_

_**-End Song; ZIPS by T.M. Revolution-**_

"_Kira. Kira Yamato!"_ Kira was taken aback, and the voice confirmed what he had feared. _"So it is you. Isn't it Kira?"_

"Athrun..." Kira mumbled, in shock at his former best friend fighting in this war. "Athrun Zala! What is this? Why are you here!" He demanded, as the Strike brandished its sword.

"You should talk! What are _you _doing in that thing!" Athrun shouted at Kira, as the Aegis activated the beam saber on the right arm, and clashed with Kira, carefully avoiding the extended range. Below them, the colony began to collapse into pieces, and the shelters ejected from the harmful atmosphere.

"No, Heliopolis...!" Shiro said, and he focused back on the Aegis, crying out as he fired several beam shots at it. Athrun dodged the volley, but the Unicorn dashed in, far faster than before, and kicked Athrun at the side as well as destroying the shield with the Beam Tonfa. As the Unicorn hovered betwen the Strike and the Aegis, both of the combatants were shocked.

_What the-? That unit, it transformed! _Athrun thought in suprise. _What the hell did these Naturals build?! _At that moment, a huge part hole in the colony wall began to pull the Unicorn and Strike out forcibly, and Athrun cried out as they were seperated.

The _Archangel_ made to escape the ruins, and expanded the sensors to look for the two mobile suits. They detected the Unicorn, now back in its normal mode, hovering some distance away. The way it didn't respond suggested that Shiro was unconscious. But they looked back at the wreckage. The Strike-and Kira-were elsewhere.

"My god..." Murrue uttered, horrified, with Mu clenching his fists in barely concealed anger. _Rau you bastard! What have you done!_

For the colony formerly known as Heliopolis, was destroyed, and they had not been able to prevent it.

* * *

"So, it seems the Unicorn has been awakened..." A silky, woman's voice cut through the suffocating darkness. A man was sitting on the couch.

"Yes, it's about time. That fool Banagher was easily duped into reproducing the original unit." The man replied. "Now, it's only a matter of time before we can make our move." A semi circle of people surrounded him. His eyes flashed gold, and he clenched his fist.

"Soon, we shall show the world...just how powerful we are."

* * *

**With the collapse of Heliopolis, the **_**Archangel **_**was cast adrift, and its passengers struggle to accept the loss of the place they called home. The crew know the enemy is still out there, and preparations to evade Commander Le Creuset's ZAFT vessels were made and to escape to a base. They can't do that without the Gundams; while Shiro accepts being the Unicorn's pilot due to its unusual transformation regarding him, Kira refuses to pilot this war machine. Next time on Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Unicorn: Making the Kessel Run. Break through the darkness, Gundams!**


End file.
